Safety railway-switch



(No Model.)

P. G. HANSON. SAFETY RAILWAY SWITCH. No. 254,870. Patented Mar. 14,1882.

N. PETEiis. Phumiilhogmphen wanhm lon, 0.6.

UNTTED STATES PATENT @EETCE.

PAUL G. HANSON, OF ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA.

SAFETY RAI LWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 254,870, dated March 14, 1882.

Application filcdSepteinher 7, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PAUL G. HANSON, of Rochester, in the countyof Olmsted and State of Minnesota, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Safety Railway- Switches, of which the following is a speciti' cation.

This invention relates to switches for railway-tracks, and more particularly to the class known as-split switches, and it is my object to arrange these switchesin such a manner that the adjustment and changing of the switch are under control of the engineer in charge of the approaching locomotive, and that under no circulnstances can the locomotive run oh" the In the drawings forming part hereof, Figure 1 represents aplan view of the switch and of the pilot ofan approaching locomotive; Fig. 2, a sectional elevation of a side lever, to be presently described; Fig. 3, a cross-section on line 0 m w in Fig.1; Fig. 4, a longitudinal section, and Fig. 5 aplan view, of one of the guide-shoes for theshifting-bar, and Fig.6 isasideelevation of another guide-shoe. Like letters designate corresponding parts 5 in all the figures.

AA denote the rails ofthe side track of a railway, and 13 B the rails of the main track, each of which tracksis provided with a split or pointed rail,A audB, thatis supported on asole-plate, a. and at. These sole;plates, as well'as the rails, are rigidly secured upon sleepers U G in the usual manner. The split or pointed rail end Bis rigidly secured upon its sole-plate a, to be stationary thereon, at a sufficient distance 5 from the rail A to leave an open channel for the flanges of the passing wheels to pass between when the locomotive is to follow the main track, and when it is to follow the side track the wheel-flanges will ride upon the sole- 5o plate to until they pass the gap andthe point of the rail end.

The split or jointed end of rail A is arranged to slide laterally upon the sole-plate a, between rail B and the guard-rail D, a distance that is just suflicient for forming a channel for the wheel-flanges either to pass between the rail B and rail end A or between the guardrail D and the rail end A, according to the track that is to be followed.

The rail A is held steady against the lateral stress of the wheels by one or several bars, E, that form a gripe or dovetail over the bottom flange of the rail at one end, and are guided in a hole of sole-plate a on their opposite end.

The end of a bar, F, is conneotedto the rail A near its pointed end. This bar F is passed through a slot in the sole-plate a, and its exterior end is pivotally connected to the side lever, G, which is pivoted in the fulcrumplate g, that is secured upon one of the sleepers O. This lever G is bifurcated at its ends where it carries wheels h h. A cross-bar, H, is placed underneath the rails, with its upset ends sliding upon rollers z in guide-shoes I, so

as to be permitted a longitudinal sliding movement therein.

Underneath the wheel h the forked end of the lever G is pivotally connected to the cross bar H by the end of the bolt that carries the wheel h being passed through a hole in said cross-bar. Another lever, K, is pivoted at one end upon one of the sleepers G, and its opposite bifurcated end carries a roller, j, and is connected to the cross-bar H ina similar manner as lever G. The rollers li/and j, being at opposite sides of the track, are placed a sufficient distance apart for the pilot of the locomotive to pass between, and for certain side attachments to the pilot to be brought in contact with either one of said wheels for pushing the bar H laterallyin either direction, whereby the end of rail A will be shifted either against the rail B or against the guard-rail D, as it may be intended to either follow the main or side track. 4

The guide-shoes I and I, forming guides for the cross-bar H, and having each a roller, 11,

thatispivoted in a socket underneath the crossbar for supporting the same and for reducing its friction, have a cap-plate, Z, which will hold the cross-bar in the guides and will protect the roller 2' against rain and dirt. One of the guide-shoes is larger than the other, and has a tapering slot, m, and the cross-bar at this point also has a short slot, n, for a crow-bar, M, to be inserted, by which the switch may be operated by hand, if desirable, or as may become necessary in case a locomotive is to pass that has not been provided with the necessary atta'ohments to its pilot for making the changing of the switch automatic.

0 O are the foremost wheels of a locomotive, and P is the pilot or cow-catcher. Against the sides of the two diagonal bottom rails of this pilot 1 hinge two flat bars, Q Q, by staples p, and the rear ends of these bars Q Q, by short links q, I connect with the ends of a cross-bar, 1%, that is guided in brackets r to reciprocate therein. This bar R is sufficiently longer than the width of the rear bottom end of the pilot that when one bar, Q, is brought to lie close against the diagonal rail of the pilot, the bar Q will stand at an angle off the other pilotrail, and vice 'versa. The thus projecting bar Q or Q is to adjust and move the switch by coming in contact with either wheel h or j, and by pushing the oross-barH in either direction the lever Gr, with bar F, is compelled to shift the'end of rail A for leading the train upon either track; and for the purpose of bringing the operation under the control of the engineer, I connect the bar It by a pitman, S, with a crank, T, which latter, with a one-half revolution, will retract the projecting bar Q and will project the retracted bar Q, or vice versa, and which with one-quarter turn will stand at the intermediate position, and will hold the bars Q and Q extended at equal distances and outof action. This crank T may be operated by a hand-crank, U, or a lever from the inside of the cab of the locomotive, and for that purpose the connection between cranks U and T may be made in any suitable manner by shafts, swivel-joints, or gearing, or by sprocket-Wheels .and chains, or a combination of either devices, that depending upon the general style and construction of the locomotive to which the attachment is to be made.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings theswitchis shown in the position when the locomotive would have to follow the side track, while the side bars, Q and Q, to the pilot I? are adjusted to change the position of the switch for the locomotives to follow the main track,which change will be made sufficiently in advance of the foremost locomotive-wheels to insure the relia- .against the rail B, while if otherwise the roller It will come in contact with the pilot and will be pushed in an outward direction, whereby said rail A will be shifted to occupy the desired position before the wheels of the locomotive throw any weight upon it. In case a train is coming from the opposite direction amoroover the main track and the rail A would be in position, as shown in Fig.1of the drawings, the flanges of the wheels would shift said rail A toward and against the guard-rail D, there being no weight upon it then that would hinder its easy pushing out of the way.

As will be noticed with the above-described arrangements, the engineer does not depend on the faithful performance of the switchman;

operated by a pinion or any other well-known device for bringing about a reciprocating movement may be applied as well.

For the purpose of extending the guide for the wheel-flanges when following the main track, I bolt an iron block, 'Lt, against the side of the split rail A, which has chamfered ends for the wheel-flange to bear against and push the rail A aside.

Under the lever G, at the end toward wheeL. h, I place a shoe, T, that has a rib with inclined sides projecting on its top face, over which the lever will have to slide when changing position, and which rib, by the weight and spring-power of said lever G, will hold said lever to a certain extent in either of its two positions.

What I claim as my invention is---v 1. In combination with rails A A and B B, sole-plates a a, and guard-rail D, the bar H, guide-shoes II, side lever, Gr, and connectingbar F, all constructed and arranged for automatically adjusting the switoh-rail A from the pilot of an approaching locomotive, substantially in the manner set forth.

2. In combination with rails A, A, B, and B, sole-plates a a, and guard-rail D, the crossbar H, guide-shoes I I, levers Gr and K, with wheels h, h, and j, and connecting-rod F, all constructed and arranged for automatically adjusting the switch-rail A from the pilot of an approaching locomotive, substantially in the manner set forth.

3. In combination with the switch-rail A, connected by bar F with lever G, which is again connected by bar H with lever K, the pilot of a locomotive, havingside bars, Q Q, connected by a bar, It, and arranged to be adjusted from the cab of a locomotive by any suitable devices and connections, all substantially in the manner and for the purpose specified.

4. In combination with the switch-rail A, connected by bar F with lever G, which again is connected by bar H with lever K, such levers G and K having wheels h, h, and j, the pilot of a locomotive, having side bars, Q Q connected by bar It, and arranged to be adjusted by a crank, T, and. pitman S, all substantially in the manner and for the purpose described and shown.

5. The combination, with. the automatic 5 switch, as described, of the shoes I and I,

forming the guides forcross-bar H, and having rollers i and cap-plates Z, all substantially as and for the, purpose set forth.

6. In combination with the automatic switch described, the cross-bar H, having slot n, and 10 the guide-shoe I, having tapering slotm, all substantially as and for the purpose described and shown.

PAUL e. HANSON.

Witnesses:

GEo. DURAND, IDA HARKINS. 

